LncRNAs: A new trend in molecular biology of diseases; A review

BACKGROUND: Non-coding ribonucleotide sequences, including short and long-term ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules, are a major part of the gene expression products, which have recently been identified on a large genomic scale. The long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have a length of greater than 200 nucleotides. Only a small fraction of the function of lncRNA molecules is known to date. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched from January 2000 to May 2018. Based on the study inclusion and exclusion criteria and specific keywords, 92 original, relevant, experimental studies with moderate bias were selected. LncRNAs were evaluated as a new trend in molecular biology of diseases. RESULTS: Our analysis showed that the presently available evidence confirmed that lncRNAs can be a tool for the diagnosis and prognosis of many diseases and alternative therapies. CONCLUSION: LncRNAs are an emerging field of investigation as they are suggested to regulate key biological processes, including cellular proliferation and differentiation, and their aberrant expression is associated with many diseases. An improved understanding of the role of lncRNAs in disease would provide valuable information about key biological-promoting pathways and might be highly useful for diagnostic, prognostic, and alternative therapies assessments. This knowledge might also lead to advancement in the management of disease through the development of novel, personalized lncRNAs-based therapies.